UN agencies estimate that more than a quarter-million Rohingya Muslims have flooded into the region in just the last two weeks in what it calls an unprecedented surge from the northern state of Rakhine, where the army continues to subdue the Muslim minority
Up to eight villages in northwest Myanmar had been burned down on Friday, sparking fears that the Rohingya exodus is far from over.
New arrivals like Begum and her family survive on the kindness of older refugees in addition to food handouts from local volunteers and aid groups
"They are killing us by shooting with bullets. It was intolerable to stay there anymore and we have escaped with whatever we could grab in our hands. Here we are dying from starvation and over there, there is only brutality. All these years we did not come here, we had been living there in peace." Dildar Begum, a Rohingya Muslim, told reporters.
In a corner of a room in a sprawling expanse of squalid tents, Zahida Begum holds in her arms the tiny boy she gave birth to without any assistance, in the toilet outside the room merely hours ago.
The baby has not been fed since his birth and lacks any medical attention since the camps lack any clinic, pharmacy or even a basic first aid center.
